Wednesday, November 29th, 2023

In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive market, the success of a business is not just dependent on its financial performance but also its company culture. A prospering culture fosters a sense of belonging, supports employee engagement, and ignites the passion for new opportunities. In addition to being recognized as a Top Workplace USA 2023, the Eight Eleven Family of Companies has also been presented with several Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards this fall that serve as a testament to the flourishing environment we have created for our employees. Specifically, we have been awarded for the categories of Employee Appreciation, DE&I Practices, Employee Well-Being, and Professional Development.

About Top Workplaces Awards

The award winners are determined based solely on employee feedback from a double-blind Workplace survey and companies must achieve a response rate of 35% or higher from employees. The results and comments of these surveys are then compiled and compared to almost 42,000 other organizations across the nation. On average, fewer than 3% of eligible organizations earn a Top Workplaces designation, making these achievements clear differentiators among peers and industry leaders.

DEI: The First Steps to a Culture of Excellence

The first step in achieving a culture of excellence is creating an inclusive environment where employees of all backgrounds can feel welcomed and empowered to be their best. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental principles for success within the business world. Companies that embrace DEI efforts make remarkable strides toward future growth, and the impact of these initiatives can be seen throughout the culture at Eight Eleven Group. Inclusivity is at our core! We celebrate the unique strengths each of our employees brings, adding to a diverse array of talents and experiences from numerous individuals. “Prioritizing DEI across Eight Eleven gives us a chance to live out our core values. Passion, Grit, Innovation, Family, Service, and Opportunity all require a level of commitment and dedication that could not be achieved without diversity, equity, and inclusion as a priority,” says Nate Browning, Director of Diversity & Alumni Engagement. “We are better able to attract, retain, and grow talent that helps us move our mission forward and be a better partner with our clients in doing so as well.”

Chef and Owner of “Eating Fresh”, a local Vietnamese restaurant, shares the cuisine and culture significance of each dish with Eight Eleven employees in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Eight Eleven’s DEI efforts expand outside of the workplace as well, as seen through our collaboration with local organizations and charities that champion diversity and inclusion within the communities we serve. As a national organization, we have created a space where every perspective is accepted, and every voice is heard throughout all our markets. Although we understand that DEI is a never-ending journey, our recognition as a Top Workplace for DE&I Practices highlights that we are taking the right steps.

Nurturing Employee Health & Wellness

Health and wellness are becoming more prevalent and accepted within the workforce. Yet many employers struggle to commit to understanding their employee's life outside of work and the hardships they may face. Jonathan Eldridge, Chief Experience Officer of Eight Eleven Group says, “Eight Eleven’s strife is defining our world-class status by digging deeper into what that means.” Allocating resources for employees is necessary to ensure that day-to-day stressors can be alleviated. It enables employees to have improved work-life balance, enhanced collaboration, reduced stress, enhanced productivity, and morale.

Eight Eleven employees pose after completing a mid-day employee-led pilates class.

Eight Eleven provides a range of mental health and well-being resources dedicated to employees through a program called Lyra. Lyra provides employees and their families with high-quality mental health care designed for the individual themselves —when and where they need it. Our forward-thinking towards better health resources for our employees has been rewarded by the Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards for Employee Well-Being.

Building Professionalism

We firmly believe in investing in our employees to help them excel in both their personal and professional lives. Achieving excellence in professional development highlights the company’s performance and competitiveness over the past year while recognizing efforts made towards advancing employees with a growth mindset. We offer a variety of training classes at Eight Eleven Group, including formal in-person training classes for all our new hires and career advancements through the years, such as New Hire Training, Sales Training, Leadership Training, and Emerging Leaders Training, in addition to personal and professional development accelerator programs, such as Eight Eleven University’s Gold and Silver programs.

Julia Lindenschmidt, Director of Professional Development, passes out workbooks to employees in the dedicated training room.

Receiving the Top Workplaces National Culture Excellence Awards for Professional Development is a great recognition for Eight Eleven Group. It reinforces our core belief that investing in the growth and success of our employees is a key attribute to our company’s excellence. “We always want to be pushing even our best employees to continue to get better in the areas of their day-to-day playbook, mental mindset, and innate skills so that we can continue growing,” says Director of Professional Development, Julia Lindenschmidt. It is with our greatest intent that we will continue to uphold our commitment to professional development, making sure every individual can reach their full potential.

Our successful culture is rooted within our core values of Passion, Service, Grit, Family, Opportunity, and Innovation. Investing in not only an enriching workplace, but also in each and every employee is what has led us to achieve new heights. Without the people and our innovative practices, the Eight Eleven Family of Companies would not be what it is today.

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